IT REALLY IS QUITE SIMPLE!
You know, the life of a Christian does not need to be so cumbersome. Truly! Following Christ Jesus and walking in the way we should go leads us to more liberation than to more baggage to carry around and to do. That’s right. Following Jesus is really quite simple, but never believe me.
Believe only God’s Holy Word.
“The one who says, “I have come to know Him,”
and does not keep His commandments, is a liar,
and the truth is not in him; . . .”
(1 John 2: 4 NASB)
Oh my, let’s stop right there for a moment. A Liar! Me? You? Us? How? If we call ourselves “believers” and we do not love God more than anything, then we walk around in sin and not in truth. If we call ourselves “Christians” and do not love God more than anything & love others as much as we love ourselves, then we walk around in lies for the whole world to see. How do we know? Jesus Himself said these were the Greatest Commandments. Jesus said we are to love God, our Father, more than our spouse, our children, our family, our job, our hobby, our social media, our free time, our friends, & our anything! That’s the first and Greatest Commandment, and then comes the second one—Love everyone we meet and know MORE than we love our own flesh. (Matthew 22: 36-40)
Pretty Straightforward. There really is no grey area.
So, let’s go on to see what God’s Word teaches.
“The one who says, “I have come to know Him,” and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him;
but whoever follows His word, in him the love of God has truly been perfected. By this we know that we are in Him:
the one who says that he remains in Him ought, himself also,
to walk just as He walked.”
(1 John 2: 4-6 NASB)
- How can we follow the Word of God if we never open the Word of God?
- How can we allow the love of God flow through us if we never know what the Bible speaks?
- How can the world know we are Christians if we never reveal the love of God, the one who sends us into our Jerusalem, our Judea, our Samaria, and into the uttermost parts of the world (The Acts of the Apostles 1:8)?
- How can they know Him (Jesus) if we never open our mouths to share Jesus with them?
- How can we remain steadfast in our devotion to our LORD if we choose to not walk as Jesus walked?
IT REALLY IS QUITE SIMPLE!
WE CANNOT—
IF—WE CHOOSE TO WALK FOCUSED ONLY UPON OUR OWN SELVES & ON OUR OWN LIVES!
BUT WE CAN—
IF—WE CHOOSE TO WALK FOCUSED UPON JESUS &
IF—WE CHOOSE DAILY TO GO WHERE JESUS LEADS US TO GO, &
IF—WE CHOOSE TO DO WHAT OUR LORD SHOWS US TO DO—TODAY &
IF—WE SPEAK THE GOSPEL MESSAGE TO THOSE PEOPLE THE HOLY SPIRIT PLACES IN OUR PATH—THIS DAY!
IT REALLY IS QUITE SIMPLE!
The great evangelist who led great revivals in the Chicago area (Dwight L. Moody) had this to say about God’s Word. “The Bible will keep you from sin, or sin will keep you from the Bible.”
- He did not leave any grey areas in seeing the path we are to take.
- Christians are to be walking in an inner-revival as we live within this world.
- Believers are to be tending to God’s Word daily as we walk with Jesus.
- God’s children are to be taking the gospel to all the areas of our lives, daily.
Yes, it truly is quite simple. We cannot ever: any day, any time, any place—ever be ashamed of who God has created us to be—HIS! The Apostle Paul did not mince words when he lead the Romans to see this truth, and so I leave us with Paul’s marching words today. Let us go boldly into our day, and then tomorrow, let us strap on our sandals and go boldly again, marching in the power of God, walking with our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
“For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek.
For in it the righteousness of God is revealed from faith to faith; as it is written: “BUT THE RIGHTEOUS ONE WILL LIVE BY FAITH.”
(Romans 1: 16-17 NASB)